Guard-rail.



B. B. BETTS.

GUARD RAIL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, l9l5.

Patented Oct. 5,1915.

J, M MW 1 Ma B.'B. BETTS 'GUARD RAIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1 15 l fi jazz

BENJAMIN B. BETTS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

GUARD-RAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

Application filed March 12, 1915. Serial No. 13,941.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENd'AMI-N B. Bn'r'rs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guardltails, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a'part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in guard rails, wherein the guard rail with its mounting, a mounting for a running rail, and a brace extending from the ball of the running rail to the guard rail are all formed as an integral unit.

The object of my invention is to constructas an integral unit, preferably a casting, a guard rail, having laterally continuous mountings for its support as well as the support of a running rail, said mountings being longitudinally spaced for drainage and cleaning between the guard and running rails, a brace extending laterally from the guard rail arranged at its lowermost end to overlie the base of a running rail and its uppermost end to underlie the ball of the running rail, each of said mountings having means such as spike openings to provide for securing the running rail and the mountings to the ties or sleepers. Such a guard rail with its mountings and braces is capable of being handled as a unit and being placed with relation to a running rail with no fitting or adjustment of parts.

With the above objects in view, my invent on consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows in plan a guard rail, constructed according to my invention as in use in connection with a running rail; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my guard rail as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; F ig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional eleation taken on the line 4r4: of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional elevation showing my improved foot guard at the end of the guard rail; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation showing the foot guard taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings: 7 designates a running rail and 8 the ties or sleepers, both of which are The numerals 9 designate plates, hereinafter termed mountings, which are spaced from each other so that each one will rest on one of the ties or sleepers and each mounting has near one of its ends a running rail bearing shoulder 10, a plane seat 11 for the running rail, and a. spike opening 12, formed through the mounting and preferably intercepting the shoulder 10.

The guard rail 13 integrally connects all of said mountings and its vertical web 14 has different lateral spacings from the running rail seats on the various mountings so that the guard rail as a whole may have the usual, prescribed parallelism at its longitudinal central portion with the running rail with its ends flared or curved laterally away from the running rail.

By preference the guard rail web is reduced in depth between the mountings and these reduced portions, designated 15, are each shaped or trussed between the mountings, whereby to conserve material, as well as to provide clearance between the road bed and guard rail, for drainage and access'to the roadbed beneath the guard rail and between the guard and runing rails.

Arising from the mountings 9 are braces 16, at the base of each of which is formed a recess 17 to receive the base of the running rail, which bracesincline upwardly and laterally toward the running rail and terminate at a point where their upper free end will seat under the ball of the running rail. These braces shift the lateral strains on the guard rail to the running rail and prevent buckling of the mountings. I

In order to lend rigidity to the guard rail I resort to bracing webs 18 which integrally connect the ball and web of the guard rail with the mounting, and, in order to lend rigidity to the braces 16 I form between these braces and the web of the guard rail ribs 19.

Formed through each mounting outside the guard rail are the spike openings 20, whereby to secure the mountings to the ties.

Between the pairs of mountings at each end of the guard rail at the points where the guard rails curve outwardly from the running rail I arrange a guard 21 to prevent the catching and holding of the feet of trackmen or other persons between the running rail and the flared ends of the guard m 1,1 ease-a rail. T his guard 21 comprises a plate ends spike openings, a brace over each plate whose body portion is substantially horirising from the base of the Web out the guard zontal and occupies a position between the rail and inclining upwardly away from said guard rail and running rail, its one side web, ribs between said web and said braces,

3 margin being integrally connected with the bracing webs between the guard rail Web web of the guard rail and its opposite side and the plates opposite said ribs, there being margin extending to the running rail. The a recess at the base of each brace constitutone end margin of this plate is integrally ing a holding seat for one flange of the run connected with the brace 16 of the one ning rail and a shoulder on each plate in op mounting, while its other end margin is'inteposition to each recess adapted to bear grally connected with the body of the next against and hold the other flange of the runadjacent mounting, this last mentioned end ning rail. of the plate being curved downwardly to 3. in combination with a guard rail, a obviate the catching of loose hanging parts plurality of mountings formed integrally on rolling stock. I with the guard rail and extended laterally Having thus described my invention, what therefrom to receive a running rail, an up- I claim as new therein and desire to secure 'wardly and laterally inclined brace over by Letters Patent of the United States thereeach plate and connected With said Web, each for, is: brace having a recess at itsbottomto receive 1. A guard rail structure comprising a the base of a running rail, a shoulder on plurality of spaced tie plates, a guard rail each plate in oppo'sitionto each recess, there whose web integrally connects the tie plates, being spike openings through said plates a brace on certain of the tie plates extendwhereby to secure the platesto sleepers and ing upwardly and laterally away from the to secure tlierunning rails by spiking and guard rail over the tie plates, a shoulder on foot guards integrally connecting the end each plate, each plate having spike openings pairs of said plates ,With the web of the therethrough and each brace having a recess guard rail. V

at its base in opposition to one of said shoul- In testimony whereof, I have signed iny ders and constituting a holding seat for one name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMlN B. BETTS,

flange of the running rail. 4

2. A guard rail structure cast complete in one piece and comprising a plurality of tie pla,tes,/a guard railwhose Web connects the Witnesses:

tie plates, said plates extending on both E. L. WALLACE,

sides from said Web and having near their EDWARD E. LONGAN. 

